Archive for November 7th, 2012

This will be Day 2 of the latest talks for a collective bargaining agreement. My advice: Don’t get excited.
There is a lot of work to do. Talks, I’m told, haven’t gotten serious yet. Sure, it’s good news they met for seven hours. It means nothing. There are so many issues to cover.
Today they get to the heart of the matter: The “Make Whole” issue. The owners have to find a way to cover all the contracts they signed in the off-season. How do they do that?
It’s a valid question.
They signed them in good faith. They should honour them in good faith. I’m not sure why people see owners honouring contracts as such a huge concession. Isn’t that why they were signed?
I’m told IF these talks gets serious they’ll go several days.
I have no expectations either way. These could just as easily fall apart. I’m not mad at either side. I just think they need to get a deal done. I can’t believe they have actually allowed this to get to this point and they didn’t come to their senses early.
I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if talks went sideways in the next few days and we went through another thaw.
I do know the owners are putting pressure on Gary Bettman to play.
I do know their are players who have told Donald Fehr to get back to the table and get this deal done.
Everybody wants to play.
I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for that to happen.
Lots of work to do.
Lots of fight ahead.
This battle isn’t over.
I do think the season hangs in the balance if they aren’t able to get a deal done.

About the authors

Bruce Garrioch is an award-winning journalist and a must-read in the hockey community. A Day-Oner at the Ottawa Sun, Garrioch is one of the top sports journalists in the country, covering the Senators since their return to the NHL in 1992-93. A 2009 winner of an Ontario Newspaper Award for his coverage of the Dany Heatley saga, Garrioch has a strong ability to break news and brings inside information with his Sunday NHL column, one of the most popular in the country. It is read by GMs, players and coaches who want the inside scoop. Garrioch has covered the 2008 Stanley Cup final for Sun Media, the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City and 2006 Games in Turin, Italy. Mainly, Garrioch has the pulse of the Ottawa Senators. If people want to know what's happening they turn to him to get the info on contracts, negotiations, signings, trades and, of course, games.

Don Brennan is a Day 1 employee of the Ottawa Sun. He has spent the majority of his 23 years as a sports reporter/columnist, covering the Senators since their return to the NHL in 1992, and prior to that writing about the Rough Riders, 67's and other sports. Brennan also wrote a Page 6 column in the Sun for nine months. A native of North Bay, Brennan moved to attend Centennial College in 1978. He remained in Toronto for a decade, working first as a freelancer, than an editor with the Toronto Sun. Brennan has lived in Ottawa full time ever since.

Don Brennan and Bruce Garrioch are Ottawa's all-star hockey writing duo, and will be regularly contributing to Off The Posts.

Their combined experience covering local, national and international hockey means they have the sources to get the inside information on the Senators and the NHL which might not be available to others.

Check back often for notes, quotes and commentary. They might even disagree with each other once in awhile.